


Re: Alastor Moody, RAC-00214/91

by kitsunerei88



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, In-Universe Professional and Academic Documents - Court Transcript, In-Universe Professional and Academic Documents - Disciplinary Letter, In-Universe Professional and Academic Documents - Police Notes, Lawyers Writing Law, Police Brutality, Police Misconduct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunerei88/pseuds/kitsunerei88
Summary: Aurors Alastor Moody and Nymphadora Tonks respond to a break and enter in progress on November 28, 1991.On March 31, 1992, Alastor Moody retires.According to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, these two incidents are not, firmlynot, related.
Relationships: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody & Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 15
Kudos: 34
Collections: Unconventional Fanwork Exchange 2020





	1. Image Version

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FelixPhial](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FelixPhial/gifts).



> So, in order to get the true experience, i.e. what the documents actually look like in real life when they fall on your desk, I had to upload everything as images. However, for accessibility reasons, I've tried to put a close-ish facsimile as the next chapter. The content is completely the same, so if you find this version too hard to read, you can peek at this for what the documents actually look like, and then skip to the next chapter to read the more accessible text. For lawyer commentary on choices I made, see the endnotes!
> 
> Also, please do pay attention to the tags. I wrote this at the end of May before the BLM protests on police brutality, and there is some questionable Auror conduct in this. At the time I wrote this, I was very much running off of Moody's canonical penchant for paranoia and overreaction. I've kept everything very ambiguous, but I leave it in your hands to decide whether you want to read.

**I.**

[Auror Notes of Nymphadora Vela Tonks, 28/11/91]

**II.**

**III.**


	2. Text Version

**I.**

[Auror Notes of Nymphadora Vela Tonks, 28/11/91]

COMPLAINANT DID NOT PRESS CHARGES. NVT 23/11/91

* * *

28 NOV 1991  
2025  
RCVD CALL BREAK-IN IPR AT BOOTH'S APOTHECARY, 10 DIAGON ALLEY. DISPATCHED TO SCENE.  
CONDITIONS DARK, RAINY.  
ON ARRIVAL, DOOR UNLOCKED.  
LIGHTS OUT, 2 BROKEN WINDOWS OBSERVED AT ENTRY TO SHOP. POTIONS INGREDIENTS SCATTERED ON FLOORS.  
SA MOODY AND I ENTERED.  
FLOORS SLIPPERY, SOUND OF CRASHING.  
MOVEMENT AT BACK OF SHOP.  
2 FIGURES.  
SA MOODY DEMANDED STOP. FIGURES YELLING, SCREAMING, WORDS INCOHERENT.  
SAW INTERMINGLED LIGHTS OF SPELLS AND DUELLING. CAST LUMOS MAXIMA.  
HEARD CRASH OF DOOR.  
WHEN VISION FOCUED, RAN TO BACK OF THE SHOP.  
VICTIM, EWAN BOOTH, ON FLOOR. BLEEDING PROFUSELY FROM CUT ON CHEST, SAW BONE. EMERGENCY FIRST AID PROVIDED. CALL FOR ASSISTANCE ST. MUNGO'S HOSPITAL.

* * *

2215  
INTERVIEW WITH EWAN BOOTH.  
AT HOME, ABOVE THE SHOP, WITH A CUP OF TEA, HEARD CRASHING POTIONS BOTTLES, WENT DOWNSTARS, SAW SUSPECTS BEHIND THE COUNTER, PRYING AT MONEY BOX. YELLED FOR HIM TO STOP, GRABBED SUSPECT.  
FOUGHT, BOOTH LARGER BUT OLDER, SUSPECT DESCRIBED AS "SLIPPERY AS FUCK." HEARD FRONT DOOR OPENING AND YELLED FOR ASSISTANCE, FELT SHARP BURN ACROSS CHEST, PAIN. FELL, WOKE UP IN HOSPITAL.  
SUSPECT DESCRIBED AS:  
\- CAUCASIAN MALE  
\- LATE TEENS, EARLY 20S  
\- LEAN  
\- DARK HAIR  
\- POINTED NOSE  
NOT ARMED, NO WAND SEEN. NVT 28/11/91

* * *

30 NOV 1991  
1540  
CALLED TO BREAK UP DOMESTIC DISPUTE AT THE GREENGRASS RESIDENCE. REPORTS OF CRYING, SCREAMING, THROWN CHINA

**II.**

File No. 00214/91-RAC

REVIEW OF AUROR CONDUCT: ALASTOR ISAAC LACHLAN MOODY

EXAMINATION OF NYMPHADORA VELA TONKS

January 6, 1992

Present: Padraig Michael McLeod (Independent Examiner, Edinburgh)  
Robert Allan Bones (Auror Union Representative)  
Alastor Isaac Lachlan Moody (Senior Auror, London)  
Nymphadora Vela Tonks, (Junior Auror, London)  
Annie Glynnis Forbes (Court Reporter)

McLeod: -is it on? Thank you, Annie. We’ll begin. Auror Tonks, you are here to be examined in relation to the events of November 28, 1991. Although this is not a formal court proceeding, please be advised that any statement you make here may be used against you in later proceedings, should I determine that any Auror misconduct has occurred and refer this matter for charges. Do you understand?  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: State and spell your name for the record, please.  


Tonks: Nymphadora Vela Tonks. First name, N-Y-M-P-H-A-D-O-R-A. Middle name, V-E-L-A, and last name T-O-N-K-S.  


McLeod: Thank you. Would you please describe for the record the events of November 28, 1991?  


Tonks: Um-I have notes. Can I use my notes?  


McLeod: Who made the notes?  


Tonks: I did, sir.  


McLeod: Do you have an independent recollection of the events, aside from your notes?  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: Did you make your notes contemporaneously with the events?  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: Did you make any alterations or changes to your notes since the events?  


Tonks: No, sir.  


McLeod: You may use your notes to refresh your memory only.  


Tonks: OK. Thanks. Um – on November 28, 1991, Auror Moody and I were on duty. At approximately 8:25 in the evening we received a call about a break-in in progress at Booth’s Apothecary in Diagon Alley in London. Um, we were dispatched to the scene. When we arrived, the door was unlocked. There were two broken windows. We went inside and we heard the sound of a struggle from the back of the room. There were two people there, and Auror Moody ordered that they stop. They didn’t. I saw a flash of movement from the front, like someone turning to us and drawing a wand or gun. I cast Lumos Maxima, and when I was blinded by the light, I heard the sound of a crashing door. When our vision cleared, we ran to the back of the shop, behind the counter, and we saw Ewan Booth on the floor. He was bleeding from a deep cut on his chest, and I administered first aid. We called for assistance from St. Mungo’s, and Mr. Booth was taken there for treatment.  


McLeod: All right. OK. And did you interview Mr. Booth?  


Tonks: Yes. At 10:15 that night, I went to interview Mr. Booth. He said that he was at home, in the apartment upstairs, with a cup of tea when he heard the sound of crashing potions bottles. He ran downstairs and saw the suspect behind the counter, trying to break into the safe. He yelled at him to stop and grabbed him.  


McLeod: Then what?  


Tonks: Then – um. He stated that he heard the front door open and, um, he yelled for help. Then he, um, felt a sharp pain on his chest and fell.  


McLeod: And what happened then?  


Tonks: He woke up in the hospital.  


McLeod: Did he provide a description of the assailant?  


Bones: I hardly think that is relevant, McLeod. Move along.  


McLeod: This is not a formal court proceeding, Bones – I am permitted to ask the questions and determine relevance for myself. Auror Tonks, do you have notes of the assailant?  


Tonks: Um, yes. Caucasian male, late teens or early 20s. Lean, dark hair, pointed nose.  


McLeod: Anything else?  


Tonks: No, sir.  


McLeod: OK. Then let’s go back to the beginning. You said you were called at 8:25pm.  


Tonks: Yes, sir.  


McLeod: What were the conditions like?  


Tonks: It was night-time. It was dark.  


McLeod: Rain? Snow? Were the lights on in Diagon Alley?  


Tonks: Um, it was rainy. Raining. The lights in Diagon Alley were on but they made it worse.  


McLeod: But you saw the door was unlocked and there were 2 broken windows.  


Tonks: Yes, but we – we had to come right to the door.  


McLeod: OK. Where were the broken windows?  


Tonks: Um. Beside the door. Just one, beside the door, and um, one in the door.  


McLeod: So, a window beside the door and a windowpane in the door were broken, is that right?  


Tonks: Y-Yes.  


McLeod: And then you went inside?  


Tonks: Yes, we could hear the sounds of the struggle from outside.  


McLeod: Over the rain? How heavy was the rain?  


Tonks: Um. It wasn’t that bad? It was wet, it was cold, but, um, it wasn’t that bad.  


McLeod: But you couldn’t see much in Diagon Alley.  


Tonks: Well, I wouldn’t say that-  


McLeod: But you said that the lights weren’t helping?  


Tonks: Well, er, they were just, distant and blurry. It was dark.  


McLeod: Heavy enough to make it hard to see, but not heavy enough to block any noise from outside, is that right, Auror Tonks?  


Tonks: Er, yes.  


McLeod: You heard the sounds of struggle before you went inside?  


Tonks: Yes, sir.  


McLeod: Earlier, you said that you entered and then you heard the sounds of struggle at the back. Are you changing your statement?  


Bones: How is this relevant, McLeod?  


McLeod: Just trying to understand the sequence of events, Bones.  


Tonks: No, sir, um-  


Bones: What does it matter? They had a reason, McLeod, there was a report of a burglary in-progress. It doesn’t matter whether they heard the noise outside or not, they had reason to enter.  


Tonks: It’s, um, it all came at once, sir.  


McLeod: Fine. All right. So, you went inside, and you saw two people struggling at the back of the room, behind the counter.  


Tonks: Yes, sir.  


McLeod: Were there any lights in the shop?  


Tonks: No, sir.  


McLeod: You said earlier that it was hard to see.  


Tonks: That was, er, in the rain, sir. It wasn’t raining in the shop.  


Moody: It was bloody night-time, McLeod, how dark do you think it gets at night?  


Bones: Alastor…  


McLeod: I’m going to ignore that, Auror Moody, and I suggest you listen to the counsel of your union representative.  


Moody: These proceedings are a farce.  


McLeod: Auror Tonks, what did you see in the shop?  


Tonks: I saw two people at the back, struggling. People were yelling. It was hard put together what was happening…  


McLeod: And you saw these people? In the dark? Without lights, when you said yourself it was hard to see in the rain?  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: How big is Booth’s Apothecary?  


Moody: It’s the same bloody size as every other shop in Diagon Alley!  


McLeod: Auror Tonks, how far away were you from the two people struggling?  


Tonks: Um, they were behind the counter, so I guess… twenty-five, thirty feet?  


McLeod: You saw two figures struggling, twenty-five to thirty feet away, in the dark. Without lights.  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: Auror Moody cried for them to halt.  


Tonks: That’s right.  


McLeod: And they didn’t?  


Tonks: No, sir.  


McLeod: You saw one of them turn towards you—  


Tonks: Yes, like he was about to draw a wand or a gun.  


McLeod: You saw one of the figures turn to you like he was about to draw a wand or a gun.  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: From twenty-five to thirty feet away, in the dark.  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: And there were no lights.  


Tonks: No, I cast Lumos Maxima after that.  


Moody: Merlin’s sake, McLeod. You can see movement better in the dark! Anyway, I have a magical eye, and I can see in the dark.  


Bones: Alastor, please be quiet.  


McLeod: Let’s go back to before you cast Lumos Maxima, then. What happened?  


Tonks: Um, I saw some spells being thrown around, but it was all…  


McLeod: All what?  


Tonks: Very confusing.  


McLeod: You saw the figure move to draw a gun or a wand, and you didn’t act to defend yourself?  


Tonks: No, I cast Lumos Maxima. I-I knew Auror Moody would-  


McLeod: Auror Moody would what, Auror Tonks?  


Tonks: I knew that he would block whatever it was, so I thought it best to get some light into the room.  


McLeod: You didn’t cast any spells to defend yourself.  


Tonks: No. I knew Auror Moody would shield us.  


McLeod: After the light came on, you went to the back of the shop and found Ewan Booth on the floor bleeding from a deep cut on his chest.  


Tonks: That’s right. I gave him first aid, then we called St. Mungo’s.  


McLeod: You didn’t see the suspect?  


Tonks: No, sir. He was gone, he’d run.  


McLeod: Did you see any weapons?  


Tonks: No, he had to have taken them with him.  


McLeod: I spoke to Ewan Booth as part of this review. He says that he was unarmed.  


Tonks: Yes, that makes sense.  


McLeod: He also said that the suspect was unarmed.  


Tonks: I can’t comment on that, we didn’t see the suspect.  


McLeod: Other than when one of them moved to draw a gun or wand on you.  


Tonks: Er – yes. Other than that.  


McLeod: Which you saw from across the shop, twenty-five to thirty feet away. In the dark.  


Bones: Do we really need to go over this again?  


McLeod: Just getting the testimony straight, Bones.  


Tonks: Yes, we saw the movement to draw a gun or wand, but the suspect ran. By the time we got behind the counter, he was gone.  


McLeod: You never saw a wand or gun.  


Tonks: No, but we saw him move for one.  


McLeod: You are very sure about that.  


Tonks: Yes, I am.  


McLeod: You went behind the counter and saw Mr. Booth on the ground, bleeding deeply from a cut on his chest, is that right?  


Tonks: Yes, sir.  


McLeod: Did you recognize the curse?  


Tonks: I did not, sir.  


McLeod: But you provided first aid?  


Tonks: Yes.  


McLeod: Did you see any wand or weapon behind the counter?  


Tonks: No, I didn’t.  


McLeod: Thank you. Have you spoken to Auror Moody since these events on the evening of November 28, 1991?  


Tonks: Er – he is my partner.  


McLeod: To clarify: have you spoken to Auror Moody about these events since the evening of November 28, 1991?  


Tonks: No.  


McLeod: You deny any collaboration with Auror Moody about the events of November 28, 1991?  


Tonks: Yes. I do.  


McLeod: I see. Thank you. That will do.

END TRANSCRIPT

I certify that this transcript is a true and accurate record  
of the Examination of Nymphadora Vela Tonks, Junior Auror,  
dated 6 January 1992

SIGNED: Annie Glynnis Forbes  
Court Reporter

**III.**

**_Department of Magical Law Enforcement_ **

_Review of Auror Conduct_

_BY OWL_

February 28, 1992

Senior Auror Alastor Isaac Lachlan Moody  
61 Winchester Close  
London

Dear Auror Moody,

Re: Allegation of Auror Misconduct - November 28, 1991

* * *

I am writing to advise you that, at the close of my review of your conduct into the events of the evening of November 28, 1991, I will not be recommending charges be laid for use of excessive force and/or the use of a Dark Curse without due care and attention.

On November 28, 1991, you and your partner, Junior Auror Nymphadora Vela Tonks, responded to a break-in in progress at Booth’s Apothecary at 10 Diagon Alley. In responding to the break-in, it is alleged that you used excessive force and/or a Dark Curse without due care and attention.

The evidence provided in the course of my review suggests that conditions of the night were not conducive to visibility, and that you entered into an active scene of a crime in progress, in which the victim, Ewan Booth, was involved. Both you and Junior Auror Tonks stated that you saw one of the combatants turning towards you and moving for a wand or a gun. You stated that you cast a Stunning Spell at the perpetrator, who turned and ran. Mr. Booth was found on the ground behind the counter, bleeding. There is no other evidence suggesting that either Mr. Booth or the perpetrator were armed at the time of the offence.

In the circumstances, I have concluded that there is not enough evidence to refer the matter to the Department of Justice for charges against you. However, in so saying, I note that this is your 18th Review of Auror Conduct in the past 15 months, and strongly encourage you to seek your retirement.

Yours very truly,

Padraig Michael McLeod  
Independent Examiner

**Author's Note:**

> **Lawyerly Endnote Time!**
> 
> (1) Tonks' notes actually do look very close to what police notes really do look like, at least where I am. The main differences is that the binding is usually at the top, and they're usually truly flat, low-quality photocopies and not relatively-high quality black and white photos. Police are taught to take notes solely in all-caps because it's more legible, but as you can see here, that only goes so far. Actually, when I showed it to my friends who are defence lawyers, they uniformly said "You're one of the legible ones!"
> 
> (2) In terms of the legal proceeding, I structured this like an administrative proceeding rather than a true court case. Essentially, this is an independent examination of what happened by someone senior, though he may or may not be legally trained, from a different Auror unit (hence, specifying that the examiner is out of the Edinburgh office). Moody is allowed to have representation, but this may or may not be a lawyer (hence, his union representative is with him). In this fic, both of these can be assumed to be lawyers or have legal training because they otherwise sound and act like lawyers. However, you can think of it as an intermediary step to referring Moody for charges.
> 
> (3) I wasn't able to code in the page and line numbers on the text copy for the court transcript, but those are actually very critical. For example, had Moody been referred to charges, and I had to cross-examine Tonks, part of impeaching her would be, e.g., if she suddenly said the vision was fine in Diagon Alley that night, "I am going to read from the transcript of your examination on January 6, 1992. From page 4, line 2, McLeod, Question: Were the lights on in Diagon Alley? Answer, it was rainy. Raining. The lights in Diagon Alley were on but they made it worse. Is that not right, Auror Tonks?" (Part of impeaching someone is giving them the opportunity to adopt their previous statement.)
> 
> (4) Honestly, while there is a lot of circumstantial evidence against Moody here, the facts are confused enough (especially because of Tonks) there really might not be enough to make out a case against him. There is reasonable doubt in the case, both from the unknown perpetrator and thief, and from Tonks herself. So on one level, this is a bit of the old boys' club closing ranks around Moody, but there's also a decent basis for not referring Moody for further charges.


End file.
